Many times, heroes have to face their enemies in battle. They can have access to a vast variety of weapons, from swords to axes to staves to knives. However, sometimes the hero will take a third option and fight with his own hands.

Sometimes is because the character is a Bare-Fisted Monk who uses martial arts, or perhaps doesn't like weapons or killing. Sometimes it's because the character is so damn strong that he doesn't need weapons at all. Often it represents a very blunt, straightforward personality. If the main hero travels with his friends expect his lancer or Big Guy to use weapons instead, to make the contrast clear. This can also be played with the unarmed hero and the weapon-using villain.

Subverted in Gamaran: the main character is a swordsman, and at one point he fights the Kyosen Ryuu warriors, whose martial arts revolves on bare-handed combat.

Shichika, the protagonist of Katanagatari, is a swordsman who doesn't use swords. Don't think about it too hard. Technically he isn't a swordsman, he isa sword. He is the culmination of seven generations of training and mental conditioning to raise a warrior whose very body is a weapon.

Negi Springfield of Mahou Sensei Negima! slowly phases out his weapons after he gets a ring to serve the same purpose as his staff.

Ichise from Texhnolyze, mainly because he's a prize fighter. He does get a sword later on.

Played with in 3×3 Eyes. Yakumo has to win a kickboxing match against an opponent with a highly superior fighting technique and he can't use magic because of all the muggles betting on the fight. So he purposely requests a barehanded kickboxing match without boxing gloves, so he and his opponent will get hurt more, so he can win in the long run due to his healing factor.

Knights of the Zodiac: While some saints does have some sort of weaponry with them, most of them fights barehanded. Usually most of the Big Bad here have weapons of sort.

Elemental Hero Neos, from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. He may be the most popular, powerful, and heroic of Judai/Jaden's monsters.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, the Barian emperor Alito uses Boxer themed cards (Burning Knucklers or Battlin' Boxers), exhibits himself great boxing skills, and in his past life, was known to be one of the greatest gladiators of all time, fighting only with his fists. It helps that he becomes Yuma's Friendly Enemy and is seen as an all-around good person.

In Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple (which anyway gives more emphasis on weaponless fighting) there is an example with two groups of evil martial artists: it has been implied several times that the members of the weapon division of Yami are inferior both in fighting skills and fighting ethics to the weaponless Yami fighters. Many weaponless Yami masters tend to be more anti-villains, while the weaponed Yami masters are usually presented as ruthless hoodlums.

The titular characters of Tiger & Bunny. Given that the show is about american-style superheroes, this makes sense.

The Celestial Zone: Averted; a sure-fire sign that a character has reached a high level of spiritual cultivation in The Celestial Zone is when they are capable of manifesting their spiritual energy as a physical weapon, and their most powerful techniques are all executed with their spirit weapon in hand. Though the trope is played straight most of the time otherwise, as characters capable of generating spirit weapons but chose to fight bare-handed are generally holding back.

Notable exceptions include Tim Drake and Dick Grayson of DC, both former Robins who now fight crime as Red Robin and Nightwing respectively. Tim uses a Bo staff and Dick a pair of Escrima sticks, presumably because their focus on agility over strength compared to other barefist DC fighters means the weapons give them the 'kick' they need.

Other notable Marvel/DC heroes who use weapons are Thor, who wields Mjolnir, Katana, who weilds a Katana, and Bucky Cap, who uses a pistol. Many of Thor's warriors buddies like Valkyrie and Lady Sif will frequently use weapon, and Wonder Woman breaking out her sword is a sign that things are about as real as they can get without occurring directly opposite you.

Subverted with Raiders of the Lost Ark: After beating the asses of several opponents, Indy is sick of fighting. So when another opponent steps up with swords, Indy just pulls a revolver on him.

Seen in Kung Fu Panda 2: Po and the Furious Five are all unarmed kung fu fighters (though Monkey sometimes use a staff), while the Big Bad Lord Shen carries around a flame-like partisan and tons of daggers, and all his henchmen are heavily armed.

Inverted in The Raid: The hero has no qualms about using a knife and baton to stab and beat the shit out of mooks, while The Dragon deliberately puts down his gun before going hand-to-hand with Sergeant Rock.

Subverted by Carrot's boss, Vimes, who carries a sword and a crossbow but prefers to take his enemies alive, and is therefore more likely to attack with his fists — and a hidden set of brass knuckles, which very few of his opponents see coming.

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